Absurdities

I came across this piece of writing from a lay member of the Holy Cross Catholic Church:

“Being an Anglican and then married into the Catholic church, I had to make
this journey into the Faith after hearing so many misconceptions. So far, my
journey into the Faith has opened an inner eye (heart) to be able to identify my
calling and purpose that God has for me in life. He is teaching me to cleave to
him continuously so He can mold and remold me where necessary.

“If you don’t read the Bible, you are uninformed; if you do read the Bible,
you are well-informed. But, we can only ask for a more intimate relationship and
understanding according to Ephesians 1.17-19, which says ‘that the God of our
Lord, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation
resulting in knowledge of Him.’

I am looking forward to the Easter Mass celebration to receive his
Body and Blood for a never ending joy in my life. I also want to use this medium
to thank especially my sponsor, Mrs Laura H…, for helping me in this journey
and for buying me my very first rosary and all the team who taught me.”
–Chinedum I.

Excuse me whilst I gag. The best I can say is that perhaps we can give Chinedum the benefit of the doubt with regard to a possible language barrier.

Ok… Where to begin…

“Cleave to him continuously”? What on earth is that supposed to mean? Assuming that in this context, Chinedum means “to cling or stick” as opposed to “to split apart,” (see http://www.thefreedictionary.com/cleave,) this still makes no metaphysical sense. How does one “cling to” a being entirely otherworldly and in no means physically present? Apparently, only in a phsychological sense, akin to the fashion in which people still “cling to” the notion that the earth is flat, despite all evidence to the contrary (no kidding: see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Earth_Society).

Next: “We can only ask for a better understanding of God.” I’m paraphrasing; it could be argued that what Chinedum meant was the Bible, not God. I’ll get to that. But the Bible quote ends with “resulting in knowledge of Him,” which seems to suggest that God is also implicated. Seemingly, by “better,” Chinedum means “improved over the present state.” Last time I checked, God was defined as utterly otherworldly and completely unknowable (A convienient way to circumvent the petty inconvienience of not having any evidence to His credit). That’s one of the first items on God’s resume. Therefore, any understanding is unthinkable, and simply asking for it will assuredly not get Chinedum any closer.

And, of course, my favorite. “If you read the Bible, you’re well-informed.” Well-informed about the opinions of the handful of nomadic tribesmen who wrote and compiled the bible, not to mention a couple of millenia worth of translatiors. Well-informed about who to stone and what for (Deuteronomy 3.7-11: “If [anyone] tries to secretly seduce you, saying ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ … you must kill him…You must stone him to death, since he has tried to divert you from Yaweh your God”). And well-informed, of course, about sundry mythological “facts” which have no bearing or application whatsoever in scientifically-informed modern-day life. Perhaps in Chinedum’s native tongue, “well-informed” is defined a bit differently.

Thanks for reading.

Not all those who wander are lost: A mission

A good many people are convinced that they’re right. “John McCain has the wrong ideas for America;” “Blue goes with the sofa better than brown;” “Thou shalt have no other God but me.” I find it troublesome, however, that these assertions tend to evade careful evaluation. As Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” As such, I intend to subject a variety of such claims to a reasoned an analysis as possible. Does John McCain have the wrong ideas for America? Why does blue go best with the sofa? Should we have no other god but God?

But first, and perhaps more important, is the question, “Why bother?”

Per my central premise, examination itself must be examined. The reason is clear. If the examination of ideas is shown to lack merit, both you, the reader, and I, the writer, can abandon this endeavor in favor of more worthwhile pursuits. I find this not to be the case. Examination of ideas, claims, etc. aids us in sorting out what we believe. What we believe in turn plays a rold in how we live our lives. Sam Harris, in The End of Faith, explains:

“A belief is a lever that, once pulled, moves almost everything else in a person’s life. Are you a scientist? A liberal? A racist? These are merely species of belief in action. Your beliefs define your vision of the world; they dictate your behavior; they determine your emotional responses to other human beings. If you doubt this, consider how your experience would suddenly change if you came to believe one of the following prepositions:

1. You have only two weeks to live.
2. You’ve just won a lottery prize of one hundred million dollars.
3. Aliens have implanted a receiver in your skull and are manipulating your
   thoughts.

These are mere words–until you believe them. Once believed, they become part
of the very apparatus of your mind, determining your desires, fears,
expectations, and subsequent behavior” (12).

Examining our beliefs carefully is valuable, then, because our beliefs affect our lives. If we want our lives to be at least primarily founded in rationality, we should be sure that our beliefs are also, in general, rational. (Complete analysis of every belief is unnecessary; I will address this later.)

A few items worth mentioning:

• Beyond the Flock is so named because many of the conclusions I will draw run contrary to what many people believe. Thus, the need to examine each conclusion carefully.
• “I shall not go out of my way to offend, but nor shall I don kid gloves to handle religion any more gently than I would handle anything else,” says Richard Dawkins in The God Delusion. I share Dawkins’ view on handling not just religion, but all other subjects I will address as well.
• Dissent is encouraged. Please voice your own opinion.
• If you like what I’m doing here, tell people. If you hate what I’m doing here, tell me why.
• Topic suggestions are welcome.

Thanks for reading. To be continued…